THE PASSIONATE STORY OF TWO LIFELONG FRIENDS AND THE WOMAN WHO COMES BETWEEN THEM.
When Miramax premiered the Chinese epic Farewell, My Concubine in the U.S., filmmaker Louis Malle, who had chaired the Cannes jury that awarded Chen Kaige’s movie the Palme d’Or, went to see it again, knowing that Miramax founders the Weinstein brothers had forced through 15 minutes of cuts before the U.S. premiere. Afterwards, he was disappointed, claiming that this was not the masterpiece he saw in Cannes – now, he said, “it doesn’t make any sense”. In all fairness, this shorter cut does make sense and is still a powerful experience; the Weinsteins did not cut entire sequences, only bits and pieces in many scenes.
I don’t know how Chen feels about it, but the U.S. release helped him gain a reputation, along with Zhang Yimou, as the most exciting Chinese filmmaker of the 1990s.
Beijing, 1924. A woman offers her boy, called “Douzi”, to Master Guan (Lu Qi) who runs a training school for Beijing opera performers. After having a superfluous finger cut off, Douzi is accepted and finds a friend in a tougher boy, called “Shitou” (stone) for his ability to break bricks on his head. Beijing opera is a very demanding art form and Guan runs his school like a military academy; anyone who opposes the rigorous training regimen is severely beaten. Douzi is specializing in female roles, albeit not without suffering abuse.
Eventually, he and Shitou turn into impressive performers, especially when they’re doing “Farewell, My Concubine”, a play where Douzi is the concubine and Shitou the king. As adults, they become stars, courted by an influential patron, Yuan Shiqing (Ge You), who takes a particular liking to Douzi. In the meantime, Shitou begins a relationship with Juxian (Gong Li) who works at a brothel. She soon learns that she has a competitor for Shitou’s affection in Douzi…
The party’s bloody past
The Chinese regime disapproved of this film for its homosexual theme and I can’t imagine that they were too thrilled about being reminded of their party’s bloody past in Chen Kaige’s depiction of the tragic Cultural Revolution. Still, those ingredients are among the story’s most interesting. The two lead characters enjoy a rocky relationship throughout their lives, as Douzi’s love for his friend and partner remains unanswered on a romantic level but is sustained by a brotherly bond that is too strong to break. It is nevertheless challenged, not only by Juxian but also the tumultuous times they live in, as their country and people are subjected to war, invasion, revolution and indoctrination. Egotism and sacrifice play important roles.
Chen Kaige brings the past decades to life in an often visually overwhelming and colorful way; together with cinematographer Gu Changwei, he recreates the splendor of Beijing opera, the squalor of working-class poverty, the horrors of Japanese oppression and the frightening intensity of the massive brain-washing that defined Mao’s insane campaigns. The three leads are all excellent and their characters are never allowed to fall in the shadow of the major historical events. The director puts a lot of focus on the relationships, which cleverly mirror elements of Douzi and Shitou’s greatest act, “Farewell, My Concubine”…
Chen Kaige belongs to the so-called Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers. Their movies received praise from an international audience, but also made their political leaders nervous. With every attempt to normalize its relations with the world, the need for China to look back and examine the crimes of its regime’s past increases. Farewell, My Concubine serves a tremendous educational purpose.
Farewell, My Concubine 1993-China. 155 min. Color. Produced by Hsu Feng. Directed by Chen Kaige. Screenplay: Lei Bik-Wa, Lillian Lee, Lu Wei. Novel: Lillian Lee. Cinematography: Gu Changwei. Cast: Leslie Cheung (Dieyi “Douzi” Cheng), Zhang Fengyi (Xiaolou “Shitou” Duan), Gong Li (Juxian), Lu Qi, Ying Da.
Trivia: Original title: Ba wang bie ji. Jackie Chan was allegedly considered for a part.
BAFTA: Best Foreign Language Film. Golden Globe: Best Foreign Language Film. Cannes: Palme d’Or.Â
Last word: “People tell me that it’s the best picture I made so far. And they ask me, ‘Why couldn’t you make another one like Farewell My Concubine?’ But I don’t think the environment would allow me to do the same. Obviously I’m different from who I was, but at the same time, the general situation is that I’m not able to make movies like that today, quite honestly. But I still always say that I want to make a film about cultural revolution. I grew up in that time, I know too much about it. And I really feel like there’s a need for me to express what I think about that. But the fact is, [‘Farewell My Concubine’] – although it does deal with cultural revolution – is still a personal story. I will always focus on individuals. I’m not really interested in politics, or the ‘social change’ and so on. But I feel like it is still my obligation to make pictures like that – about cultural revolution – in the future.” (Chen Kaige, National Post)
